Folding chair



June 20,- 1944. FALLER I 2,352,090

FOLDING CHAIR Filed Sept. 13, 1941 2 Sheds-Sheet 1 INVENTOR gAMES FALLER ATTORNEYS June 20, 1944. J. FALLER 2,352,090

FOLDING CHAIR Filed Sept. 13, 1941 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JAMES FALLER collapsing movement.

Patented June 20, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING CHAIR- James Fall er, New'iork, N. Y. Application September 13, 1941, Serial No. 410,656

6 Claims. 1 (or 155- 136) This invention relates to an improved folding chair.

The present invention has special reference to the provision of a folding chair of the type in which the leg structure consists of a rectangular block or band serving as a leg holder and brace, and legs pivotally mounted on thewalls of said rectangular block or band, the legs beingmovable on the block or band between a collapsed condition with the legs arranged in closely parallel formation and an open condition with the,

legs spread apart.

The main advantage of a folding chair of this type is, besides its simplicity in construction, the ability to collapse the leg structure into an elongated assembly of small transverse dimensions and, therefore, rendering the same compactly portable. Folding chairs of this type have been designed either with a wholl'yflexible or a wholly rigid seat; and because of the defects inherent in both forms of seat, thistype of folding chair has not come into practical use. The difficulty with the wholly'flexible form of seat is, besides that of insecurity and weakness inthe seat structureitselL-the tendency of the leg structure to partially collapse under the weight of the user.

The difficulty with an all rigid seat is that 'it itself cannot be readily collapsed and'placed into small confines, thus defeating the aim of compact portability desired for this type'of folding chair assembly.

The prime object of my present invention centers about the provision of a collapsible chair of the referred to type, having a seat structure which by itself and in combination with the'leg structure possesses the following advantages: (1) The seat structure provides or supplies seat rigidity in one direction and, therefore, security and strength; (2) the seat structure possesses flexibility in another direction and is thereby capable of being collapsed, the construction being, moreover, such'that-the elements of the seat structure are also collapsible intoan elongated assembly .of' small transverse dimensions similar to that .of the leg structure and thus capable of being boxed therewith in the same such as an elongated cylindrical container; "(3) the rigid elements of the seat structure are connectable with the legs of the leg structure so as to form rigid connecting braces between the two leg pairs of the leg structure, and'thereby'despite the otherwise flexibility of the seat structure functions to hold all the legs against pivotal or As a resu1t,' the chair when the seat structure and leg structure ar assembled maintains its open or operative condition without tendency to collapse either by itself or under the weight of the user.

A further desideratum in a, folding chair of this character is the provision of a serviceable back for the chair; A further object of my present invention centers about the provision of a back structure associated with the folding chair structure described, which possesses the following advantages: (a) ability of being folded into an elongated assembly of small transverse dimen 'sions rendering the same capable of being boxed in the ame elongated package with the leg and seatstructures, (1)) ready detachable connectability with the seatstructure, or if fixedly attached thereto equal ready collapsibility with the one form or modification of the seat structure and back structure;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the back structure when made separable from the seat structure and showing the manner of collapsing the same;

Figure3 isja view of the seat structure show m the manner of collapsing the same;

Figure 4 is a view showing the leg structure and the manner of collapsing thesame;

Figure 2, 3 and 4, collectively, illustrate the collapsibility of the back, seat and leg structures, each into anelongated'assembly of small transverse dimensionsQwhereby all of the parts may be boxed compactly in the same package;

Figure 5 is atop plan view of the leg structure with the leg ends broken away; 1

Figures 6 and 7- are views of details showing themanner of assembling the back structure and the seat structure of Figures 1 to 3;

Figure 8 is a front elevational View of the folding chair with parts broken away, showing the association between the seat structure and the leg structure;

Figure'9 is a side elevational view of a modified form of folding chair,'in which the seat structure and the 'back'structure are united to be handleable as a unit;

structed to be set up in operative condition as 1.

shown in Figure 1 of the drawings and to be disassembled and collapsed into the conditions shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. The,

two main features of the invention are illustrated The seat structure S comprises simply two bars 21 and 28 and a flexible interconnecting seat section 29. The bars 2'! and 28 may be made in the form of wooden rods having a cross-sectional dimension similar to that of the legs 2I' to 24, and the flexible interconnecting seat section may be made of canvas or similar woven fabric, the two sides of which are sewed to provide cylindrical pockets 30 and 3| for receiving the bars 21 and 28.

The seat structure S is associated with the leg structure L so that when the two are assembled together the rigid elements of the seat structure form rigid connecting braces between the two leg 7 "pairs of the leg structure and thereby, despite the otherwise flexibility of the seat structure, functions to hold all of the legs against pivotal or colin these Figures 1 to 4. Firstly, when the folding chair is set up in assembled condition asshown in Figure 1, the leg structure L and the seat structure S are interrelated so thatthe'set upj'or open condition of the chair is maintained, all tendency to collapse being obviated by; the mutual bracing effects between'the leg structure parts and the seat structure parts. Secondly, when the parts are disassembled, the leg structure L is collapsible into an elongated assembly of small transverse dimensions'as shown in.'Figure 4 of the, drawings, the seat structure S as-also the back structure B are similarly collapsible into elongated assem blies of small transversedimensions'as shown respectively in Figure 3 andFigure 2 of'the;drawpings, so that all the parts are capable of being boxed in the same, such as an elongated cylin drical container. Other'ancillary advantages-obtained will be explainedhereinafter.

The legstructure L, which in itself is of a generally-known type, comprisesa rectangular block or band generally designated as20; which serves asaleg holder and-brace, and four legs2 I 22, 23 and 24 pivotally mounted, respectively, on the four walls 2| 22', 23 ;and24 (seeparticularly Figure 5) of the saidrctangular block or-band 20, the pivotalmount'mgbeing by means of the headed pivot pins 25,'25 rijveted at theirfront ends to the band walls as best. shown in Figure 5 of. the drawings. '-'I'he block or band 20 is preferably made of heavy steel tubing flanged'at the top and bottom to provide the top and bpttom strengthening beads clearly-shown in. Figures 1, 4 and 5 of the drawings, .a'ndthe legs 2| .t1o124, inclusive, are preferably formed from fwooden rods of suitable dimensions. ,With this'cOnstruction eachleg is pivotally movable on its wall of thevrectangular band or holder 20in a plane parallel to the plane of the said wall, the legs being movable'between a collapsed .condition with the legs arranged in closely parallel formationfl igure 4) and an operativeor'set -up condition with the legs spread apart (Figures 1 and 5) The height of the'band 20 as well as the'dimensio'ns of the rectangular opening fthereof are such as to predetermine the degree to 'which the'le 'gsare spread, the rectangular band 20 serving asja brace therefor, the leg "pressure when thelegs are in set-up condition,'being against the topand bottom beads of thebandw Torestr'ain each leg from moving except in one direction when'moved from collapsed to set-up condition,"each wall of the band is provided with a pressed-in nib orbut ton 26 which acts as a stop or restrainingelement for the leg.. With this construction the leg structure may be quickly made to assume a collapsedcondition shown:in Figure 4 and the. open or set-up condition shown 'in Figure 1; r

lapsing movement. Thus, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, When the parts are assembled in set-up condition, the seat bar 21 forms a connecting brace for the leg pair 2| and 22 and similarly the seat bar 28 forms a connecting brace for the leg pair 23 and 24. The bracing by each seat bar for a-leg pair is along a, diagonal direction or, more accurately, along a line parallel to the diagonal of the rectangular band or holder1 20, and, therefore, supplies a force component for each leg in the plane of movement of said :leg. This will be seen by viewing Figure 1 of the drawings, Therefore, the seat structure S although rigid only in one direction, namely,

fromfjfront to back,,.i. e., along the lines of seat bars 2'! and 28, supplies a rigidifying force for not only bracing the legs against further spreading movement, but' for holding the legs against pivotal or collapsingmovement even under the weight of the user. As a result,-the chair when in set-up'condition maintains its'open or operative condition without any tendency to collapse. and the chair may be handled as a unit.

In addition to this, the seat structure itself provides ;orisupplies seat rigidity in one'dire'ction, namely, from front toback, and, therefore; the necessary security and strength,- and nevertheless. possesses flexibility from side to side which latter-not onlyenables comfortable seating of' the user, but alsolpermits the seat to be collapsed in scroll form-"intoithe condition depicted in Figure 3 of the drawings heretofore described. 'The seat structure maybe" made detachably connectable to. theleg' structure in any desired way, but whatever means is used,"it is preferred to makeflthis detachable connection resilient or tensioned so that these structures are locked togetherwhereby the 'assemblymay be handled as a unit. A preferred formof resilient or tensioned detachable connection for these parts is best shown in Figure 8 of the drawings. The top ends of the legs of the leg structure L are provided with the pegs 32, 32 and the underneath wall of each bar 2'! and 28'is provided with bores 33, 33 for seatingly receiving these pegs' To produce the resilient or tensioned connection, the distance between the centers of the bores on each bar is somewhat greater than the normal distance'between the pegs of the'leg pairs whenthe legs are 'spread'apart, so that for seating engagement one of the legs of'each pair such as, for example, the leg 24, has to be sprung asis illustrated'by the movement from the dot-and-dash position to-the full line position shown in Figure 8"of the-"drawings. When thusf assembled, the parts will be mutually locked. together and the assembly may be moved or lifted asa unit, as, for-example, by taking hold of a seat bar or a Asheretofore pointed out, a further desideratum of :a folding chair of this character is the provision of a serviceable back for ,the chair. In the form of the. invention shown in Figures 1 to 7 of the drawings, the back B is made into wards one end at their rear faces by. means of the-hinge device 36, the said bars beingshaped at their upper ends in relation to the hinged point so that they aremovable between an open inverted V formation shown in the I dot-and-dash line in Figure 2 and, a collapsed closely parallel formation shown in full lines in Figure 2. The free or lowerends of the bars 34 and are connectable with the bars of the seat structure, and to this end ,are provided with the holes 31 and 38 which are adapted to be received by the reduced ends 39 and of the seat bars 21 and 28. This can be best seen from viewing Figures 2 and '3 of the drawings andthe detailed views Figures 6 and '7. The assembling of the back and seat structures is preferably made when the parts are in collapsed condition so that theparts may be locked against disengagement when open to set-up condition by the following means: each reduced end 39 and 40 is provided with a peg or stud 4i and the holes 3'5 and 38 of the bars 34 and 35 are provided at their upper ends with key slots 42, 42 which register with the pegs or studs 4|, 4| when the parts are assembled but which move out of registry and in locking position when the parts are opened up to set-up condition. This is clearly depicted in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings.

This back structure B in addition to its sheer simplicity of construction possesses the following important advantages: The ability ofbeing folded into an elongated assembly of small transverse dimensions, rendering the-same capable of being boxed in the same elongated package with the leg and seat structures, and ready detachable connectability with the seat structure. A further important feature thereof is that it may be fixedly attached to the seat structure in theform of invention now to be described, and when so attached, has equal ready collapsibility with the seat structure.

In Figures 9 to 12 of the drawings is shown the alternative form of construction in which the back structure B is connected to the seat structure S. The elements of these structures, except in the modifications to be described, are the same as those of the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 8 of the drawings and are indicated by similar but primed reference characters. The lower ends of the back bars 34 and 35' are simply hinged by means' of the hinges 4.3 and 44 to the rear ends of the seat bars 21 and 28. To support the back B in set-up condition, I prefer to provide the angle brackets 45 and 46 movable from the locking position as shown in Figures 9 to 12 of the drawings to the unlocked position shown in the dot-and-dash line of Figure 9 of the drawings. Each angle bracket pivoted on a back bar as by means of a screw 41 is provided with a locking means comprising a pin or bolt 48 fixed to a seat bar and a cooperating slot 49 formed in the angle bracket (see Figures 11 and 12). With this form of construction, the back B' and seat S may be handled as one unit and may. be moved to thecollapsed conditionbyjfirstv detaching the seat structure from the legsand movingthe bars of theseat and the bars. of the backtoparallel formation and by then folding the back structure B1 over theseat structure Sflas indicated in Figure 9. of the drawings. The reverse operation is followed when the partsare to be moved to open or set-up condition.

The manner of making and using the folding cha;ir of the present-, invention and the advantages-thereof -will in the .main be fully understood from-theabove detailed description thereof. It

will be further-understood that some of the principles of constructionof the,foldable chairmay be employed;forsimilar-pieces of furniture. 1 It will be further understood that while I have describedthe preferred form of the structure embodying the invention, changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit'of the invention asdefined inthe following claims.

Iclaim-z, v u y 41. A folding chaircomprising a collapsible leg structure, a collapsibledetachable seat structure and a collapsible back structure, the leg structure'consisting of a rectangular holder ring also I serving as a brace and legs pivotally mounted on the walls of said rectangular holder ring, a-leg being pivotally movable on each of the four walls of-the rectangularholder ring in aplane parallel ranged in closely parallel formation and an operative or open position with the legs spread apart, the detachable seat structure consisting of two parallel bars and a flexible interconnecting seat section, the parallel bars supplying seat rigidity in one direction and the flexible seat section supplying seat collapsibility in another direction, the seat when detached being collapsible with the bars arranged in closely parallel formation, and means for detachably connecting each said bar of the seat structure to the top ends of an adjacent pair of legs of the leg structure, each said bar serving as a rigid connecting brace between the two legs connected thereby and functioning there-by to hold the legs against pivotal or collapsing movement in said holder, the back structure consisting of two bar hinged together towards one end and movable when said braces are detached from said legs between an open inverted V formation and a collapsed closely parallel formation, the free ends of the bars of said back structure being connected with the bars of the seat structure when in assembled condition.

2. A folding chair comprising a collapsible leg structure, a collapsible seat structure and a collapsible back structure, the leg structure consisting of a rectangular holder ring serving also as a brace and legs Pivotally mounted on the walls of said rectangular holder ring, a leg being pivotally movable on each of the four walls of the rectangular holder ring in a plane parallel to the plane of its wall, said legs being movable between a collapsed condition with the legs arranged in closely parallel formation and an operative or open position with the legs spread apart, the detachable seat structure consisting of two parallel bars and a flexible interconnecting seat section, the parallel bars supplying seat rigidity in one direction and the flexible seat section supplying seat collapsibility in another direction, the seat when removed from the legs being collapsible with the bars arranged in closely parallel formation, the back structure consisting of two-bars hinged together towards one end and movable when the seat bars 'are detached between an open inverted V formation and a collapsed closely parallel formation, the free ends 'of the bars of thebackstructurebeing hinged to the bars of the seat structure, and means for detachably connecting the seat structure to the leg structure. 1

3. In a folding chair, a collapsible seat structure and a collapsible back structure, the seat structure consistingof two parallel bars anda flexible interconnecting seat-section, thep'arallel barssupplying seat rigidity inone direction and the flexible seat-section supplying seat collapsibility in another direction, the" seat being collapsible with the bars arranged in closely parallel formation, the-back structure consistingof two' bars hinged together towards one end and movable when detached about the hinge between an open inverted V formation and a collapsed closely parallel formation, the free ends of the bars of the back structure being connected to the bars of the seat structure When 'inassembled condition.

"4. In a folding chair, a collapsible seat structure and a collapsible back structure, the seat structure consisting of two parallel bars and 'a flexible interconnecting seat-section, the parallel bars supplying seat rigidity in one direction andthe flexible seat sectionsupplying seat collapsibility in another direction, the seat being collapsible with the bars arranged in closely'parallel formation, the back structure consisting of two bars hinged together towards one end and movable when detached about the hinge between an open inverted V formation and a collapsed closely parallel formation, the free ends of the bars of the back structure being hinged to the bars of the seat structure, the back structure when collapsed being foldable over the collapsed seat structure.

5.'In the combination seat and back structure of claim 4, a movable angle bracket connecting the bars of the back structure and the bar of the seat structure.

6. In a folding chair, a collapsible seat structure and'a separable collapsible back structure,

the seat structure consisting of two parallel bars and a flexible interconnecting seat section, the parallel bars supplying seat rigidity in one direction and the flexible seat section supplying seat collapsibility in another direction, the seat being collapsible when detached'with the bars arranged in closely parallel formation, the back structure consisting of two bar hinged together towards one end and movable about the hinge between an open inverted V formation and a collapsed closely parallel formation, the free ends of the bars of the back structure being detachably connected to the bars of the seat structure.

JAMESFALLER/ 

